Three-party alliance cautioned as potential risk
Vienna State Election 2025: SPÖ Faces Potential Challenges
The Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) in Vienna is bracing for the upcoming municipal council election on April 27, 2023, with concerns over a potential low voter turnout similar to the 65.3% recorded in the COVID-hit 2020 election.
Barbara Novak, the SPÖ's party secretary in Vienna, has expressed her dissatisfaction with the current projections for the party. The SPÖ, which has been governing Vienna with junior partner NEOS since 2010, is currently well behind the polls for Mayor Michael Ludwig.
Novak has suggested that a two-party coalition may no longer be feasible for the SPÖ, and a three-party coalition could threaten in Vienna. This is based on the likelihood of NEOS emerging as a favourite for a coalition after the election, and the possibility of the Greens serving as an alternative coalition partner, as was the case from 2010 to 2020.
The SPÖ's campaign plans to make around 60,000 house visits to mobilise voters. Despite the challenges, Novak remains optimistic, reporting a good mood among SPÖ activists. The party's goal is to approach the result of 2020, when they received 41.6% of the vote.
However, the current polls indicate that the SPÖ is below 40%, a significant drop from their previous performance. This could potentially open opportunities for opposition parties such as the far-right FPÖ or the ÖVP to increase their vote share.
The SPÖ in Vienna is the only party claiming the entire advertising budget amount, with around 5 million euros set aside for their campaign. With approximately 5,000 people involved in the SPÖ campaign, there are concerns that the party may exhaust its advertising budget due to the large number of activists needing election campaign gifts.
Novak has also expressed her hope to motivate more voters than in 2020 to go to the polls, aiming to mitigate the potential impact of a low voter turnout on the party's chances.
[1] Austrian National Election Polls 2025 [2] Vienna State Election Projections 2025
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